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Home / Answered Questions / Will I always be contagious with HPV years after the treatment has cleared it up? How long does it take for you not to be a huge risk to people?

Will I always be contagious with HPV years after the treatment has cleared it up? How long does it take for you not to be a huge risk to people?

Hi

HPV is very common with 70% of the adult population having at least one genital HPV infection in their lifetime.

More than 91% of people with a history of a genital HPV infection that have a healthy immune system, will clear the virus or suppress the virus into a non detectable, dormant state.

Currently if no visible wart is seen within 2 years it is considered a resolved infection unlikely to reappear or be spread to an uninfected partner.

Condoms will reduce the chance of HPV passing, but since HPV is passed by skin to skin contact there is a chance it can still be passed to areas not covered by the condom.

Have a look at our HPV web page for more information.

Also have a look at our client HPV handout for more information.

Please leave a comment to let us know if this answers your question or if you need more information.

Health Nurse

For other readers, please feel free to leave a comment, or let us know if this was helpful.

This answer was posted on February 11, 2015.

This answer was updated on March 2, 2023.